Half-Marathon Mick back again with an epic Quest blog! Savage weather, beautiful scenery and fantastic food, Quest Glendalough had it all!
My training during the week involved cycling back and forth to work followed by a quick jog around the neighbourhood in the evenings. I went straight from pedal to pavement for three evenings in preparation. My legs were like jelly for the first two kilometers of each run as my body struggled to adapt to the quick switch. But by day three I had the hang of it and was ready for Glendalough (After a desperate last-minute search for a bike rack on DoneDeal and Adverts!).
After a quick ham and cheese omelette for breakfast I loaded up the bike on the car and set off for Wicklow. Laragh GAA was packed out with racers raring to get going for the 12K cycle. I joined my wave, double-checked my gear, then sped off with the crew up through Glendalough.
The first 2K was a tough uphill slog. The quiet scenery of Glendalough transformed into a cacophony of clanking gears as everyone sweated and swore their way up the hills. I eventually cleared the summit, only to be greeted by a massively steep descent. I took the plunge and sped off down the track, barely keeping grip as I twisted and turned my tyres through the track with terrifying speed!
A few kilometers later and I was back in Laragh GAA. I stored away the bike and kicked off towards Glendalough. Forcing the body to jog after a 12K cycle was tough but the training paid off and after a twenty minute struggle I reached the lake. I leaped into a kayak and splashed my way around the circuit reaching dry land again after 11 minutes. Not bad for someone who hasn’t kayaked in about ten years! With the end in sight I pushed myself to the max and cleared the final 2K in just under fifteen minutes.
Quest had set up a great site by the hotel. Once we received our medals we had a fantastic post-race lunch of hot food and alcohol-free beer. I also downed my usual race recovery special of soup, sandwich and a biscuit!
So that’s it from me for this week. As of now I’ve finished all my preparatory races for the Half Marathon. With two weeks to go I’m aiming for a 13K slog around the neighbourhood this Saturday and 16K next weekend. Check back next week to see how they went!
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